Tires and a sofa sully a patch of desert in far north Phoenix. As counties around Arizona battle illegal dumping, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking a law to toughen penalties and increase accountability for those responsible for disposing of garbage.

Old, dusty tires, a torn-up couch and piles of dead plants are strewn across this desert landscape in north Phoenix. Bruce Rhoads’ work has just begun.
Rhoads volunteered his 1-800-GOT-JUNK≠ trash removal franchise to help clean up this site, where by the morning of  Feb. 6 his crew had found a boat hull and camper among the debris. This job will require five days and hauling more than 20 truckloads to the landfill.
Businesses are the most prone to illegal dumping because they try to save money by avoiding landfill fees, Rhoads said.
“Once people start dumping, you can’t track back who dumped what,” he said. “Everybody keeps adding on and then it becomes a real eyesore.”
This is just one of many illegal dump sites around Arizona, and the problem has county officials struggling to fight back.
A group of state lawmakers has introduced a bill intended to help those efforts.
While state law already outlaws dumping solid waste, H2493 would add fines of at least $500 for misdemeanor dumping and at least $1,000 for felony dumping. It also would require offenders to prove with receipts that they have transported the trash to a dump or landfill.
Rep. Barbara McGuire, D-Kearny, the bill’s main sponsor, didn’t respond to several requests for an interview made through her office and through a spokewoman for House Democrats. Other primary sponsors are Republicans Marian McClure of Tucson and John B. Nelson of Glendale and Democrats Lynne Pancrazi of Yuma and Richard Miranda of Phoenix.
The bill would help Yuma County, which doesn’t have enough law enforcement manpower to fight illegal dumping and relies on volunteers to pick up the trash, said Mike Smith, the county’s solid waste manager. Illegal dumping is a big problem that has the potential to contaminate groundwater supplies, he said.
“I’m up for anything that will help make these people clean up,” Smith said. “Somebody’s got to pay for it.”
Illegal dumping often takes place in rural areas where trash disposal is too expensive or doesn’t exist, officials from several counties said. Items dumped can include anything from car batteries to construction debris.
The waste also poses health risks because it can contain hazardous substances, said Willard Chin, project officer for the tribal program office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco. These materials are often breeding grounds for vermin and disease.
The bill would add to steps counties already are taking to combat illegal dumping.
Pinal County hits offenders with fines as high as $15,000, spokeswoman Heather Murphy said. The bill would strengthen the county’s hand, she said.
“Anything that would put a dent in the illegal dumping problem would help the residents and would make the county a better place to live,” Murphy said.
In Pima County, offenders are required to show proof of how they dispose of their trash, said K.C. Custer, an investigator for the county’s Department of Environmental Quality. The county dedicates Custer to investigating dumping, and he has the authority to refer offenders to county prosecutors.
“I think if we were able to increase the fine associated with that, it could possibly be a deterrent,” Custer said.
The bill would strengthen the position of Mohave County, said Shawn Blackburn, the county’s parks director.
In 2004, Mohave County started a program to investigate dumping sites and get offenders to clean them up. Depending on what’s dumped, the county either solves the problem independently or refers the case to state agencies that have more experience with hazardous wastes, Blackburn said.
“The problem would certainly be a lot worse if we didn’t have any enforcement,” he added.